The Import Price Index fell by 3.4 % in the September quarter. The decrease was predominantly driven by the significant appreciation of the Australian dollar against all major currencies. Falls were registered for prices of most commodities, with crude petroleum, computing and telecommunication equipment, and machinery and transport equipment being the major contributors. Small offsetting price increases were observed for a few commodities, with refined petroleum products being the only significant ones.

EXPORT PRICE INDEX

The Export Price Index fell by 2.8 % in the September quarter. The decrease was predominantly driven by the significant appreciation of the Australian dollar against all major currencies. Falls were registered for the majority of commodities. In particular, falls were observed for prices of wool, coal, and crude petroleum products. Small offsetting price increases were registered for a few commodities, with fresh beef being the most significant.

NOTES

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

Both the Import Price Index and the Export Price Index have been reweighted in the September quarter 2003. This is in line with the ABS' policy of reweighting these indexes annually in the September quarter, as explained in paragraphs 8-10 of the Explanatory Notes. The new weighting patterns are provided in an Appendix to this issue.As a consequence of this annual reweighting, points contribution data for June quarter 2003 shown in Tables 2, 8 and 17 differ from those published in the previous issue of this publication.

IMPORTANT NOTE

All tables for this product can be accessed through International Trade Price Indexes, Australia(cat. no. 6457.0) for a small charge. A concordance between table numbers from the former publications: Export Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6405.0) and Import Price Index, Australia (cat. no. 6414.0) and this publication is also available from the International Trade Price Indexes, Australia(cat. no. 6457.0) : Concordance.

If you have any difficulty accessing data, please contact Steve Whennan on (02) 6252 6251.

RELATED STATISTICS

For more information about statistics in this publication and about other 'ABS data available on request', contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Steve Whennan on Canberra (02) 6252 6251, or email steve.whennan@abs.gov.au.

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